During my early days on the job, I did a trend story on blogs. This was back in the early 2000s, when you still had to explain such things (blog = web-log). Shortly thereafter podcasts came along and really blew people’s minds. It was sort of like radio, but you could put the shows in your iPod and listen to at your convenience. Finally, there was no excuse for not knowing about “This American Life.” Fast forward to 2013, and podcasting in not just a thing (with millions of listeners), it’s a career field. At least for guys like Chris Hardwick, Marc Maron and Adam Carolla, who is live taping an episode his his podcast Sunday night at the Tower Theatre.

I busted my butt trying to work an interview with Carolla in advance of the show. Sadly, we couldn’t get our schedules synced, so, I threw some questions out to my buddy (and local podcast guru) Mike Seay. Disclosure: Seay is my co-host on Flowing with Famous.

How have podcasts changed since 2004 or whenever people started paying attention to such things?

It’s become much more niche. In the beginning there was a lot of regular people doing their version of a radio morning show. Not many celebrities, mostly average people that would never try getting a job in radio but still thought they could do that brand of entertaining.

Carolla hosts the most downloaded podcast of all time, which, technically, means since the early 2000s or so. Still, Carolla, best known for his TV (“The Man Show,” Crank Yankers”) and radio (“Loveline”) work, is podcast royalty. His show was downloaded 60 million times between ’09 and ’11.

Carolla will be taping an episode of his podcast live at the Tower Theatre, Dec. 8 and we have tickets to put a few lucky Beehivers in the audience. Enter to win by leaving a comment on this post. Tell us what is your favorite podcast and why. The contest ends 5 p.m. Friday. Winners will be chosen by random and notified via email. So check your email if you enter. One comment per person, please. Rules on the jump.

Downtown Fresno saw two well-attended and super-cool events happen within one-month’s times. That’s the jumping off point for the latest episode of Flowing with Famous, the podcast for the Fresnophile in all of us. Once again I am joined by podcast guru Mike Seay.

For those who don’t following along, Flowing with Famous, is a long-running Fresno-centric podcast, where I sit down with podcast guru Mike Seay to talk about the city’s culture, media, music and politics.

Uploaded and ready to put in your iPod (or iPhone or whatever other device you use to listen to podcasts), it’s another episode of Flowing with Famous, where I sit down with Mike Seay to talk Fresno arts, entertainment, politics and more.

It might help if you picture us sitting at a dive bar somewhere.
In this episode we discuss:

Just posted: Another episode of Flowing with Famous, the city’s original Fresno-centric podcast. Once again I join local podcast guru Mike Seay to talk “all things Fresno.” In this episode we hit on the Fulton Mall, sprawl, Tioga Sequoia’s birthday bash and more. Plus guest commentary from Hilary Malveaux (from Creative Fresno). Audio engineering by Reid May.

Listen to me ramble on and on with the guys from Dead in 60 Years on their recent podcast — for reals, it’s like an hour and a half. It’s also a very profane and probably offensive podcast, so it also gets a NSFW warning.

Vote for your top six performers in the Big Fresno Fair’s Local Performer Contest. Of the 25 acts still in the running, the top six vote-getters will earn a chance to play at the fair’s local talent showcase. Watch videos and vote here.

Doug Ray and Bob Cady, who handled morning duties at KJFX (FM 95.7) in the early ’90s, are together again. Cady left Fresno in 1994 to attend film school. Ray left the following year but returned and was on KRZR (FM 103.7) as the morning team of Doug Ray and The Rev until last year. Doug and Bob are now doing a weekly podcast on Radioexiles.com. New podcasts get posted on Thursdays.

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of spending a bunch of hours in some random office building with the gents of the Dirty Dowdy Podcast. The podcast, for the unfamiliar, is a raunchy romp of beer-fueled humor that ranges from the absurd to the utterly explicit.

If you think the Dorktown podcast is profane, just know that it sounds like a Sunday sermon compared to what happens regularly on the Dirty Dowdy show. They’re a lot like a radio morning show — just unabashed and uncensored.

The show I sat in on was their year-ender, so we discussed our favorites music, TV shows and movies of the year. We also talked a lot about R. Kelly’s “Trapped in the Closet” saga, as they currently fascinated with it.

We also talked about my road to The Bee and my awesome hate mail. Meanwhile, I tried to not utter a single profanity. You’ll have to listen to see if I was successful. Though I will tell you that that’s quite an undertaking, because the show is more than two hours long.

And now, I offer you one final warning: The show is SUPER NSFW, so keep that in mind before you listen.

Spinners Records, the Tower District’s neighborhood record shop, is celebrating 20 years with a party Wednesday night at Audie’s Olympic. Yep, while Wherehouse, Tower Records and others have trotted off to the Big Music Store in the Sky, Spinners is still selling vinyl on Olive Avenue.

That’s reason to celebrate, ain’t it? For the party, there will be live performances by local bands Docabilly, Poplord and Speedogeezer. And, get this, it’s totally free.

It’s all the local news and stuff from the blogosphere that you need to Fres-Know. It’s been a while, so we’re giving you a big one. Don’t dare say it.

KMPHATE? The top item on the GLAAD blog is about how KMPH aired a paid, anti-gay infomercial on Sunday. We have to ask: WWKD — what would Kopi do? [GLAAD Blog]

HIGH JINX: If an airplane has trouble, but only bloggers care … is it news? Mike Scott thinks so and is all over it. [CBS 47]

CAR DASHING: Two girls paid top dollar to meet Kim Kardashian at The Edge on Friday night. After hours of waiting, that didn’t happen, so they dashed outside, intercepted Kim as she left, got invited into her limo, then sent the pics to a vacation blog. [On Location Vacations]

GET OFF MY LAWN! Do you hate people? Wish they’d leave you alone? (I’m thinking of one blogger in particular) Or do you just wish those pesky solicitors would stop knocking at your door? Either way, check out this hilarious sign. [On Edge 559]

It’s all the local news and stuff from the blogosphere that you need to Fres-Know.

THE TOWER IS A PLACE FOR TOURISTS: The Tower District (and Fresno) got a two-page spread in the current Sunset Magazine. They shouted the Tower out as a cool daytrip and called it a “hip indie ‘hood brimming with vintage flavor.” And no where did it say “scary,” so take that, rest of the city. [The Fresnan]

SUCK IT, LONG BEACH: Fresno is now officially the fifth biggest city in the state, topping Long Beach. Now we need a beach and a Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles. [Fresno Bee]

AIN’T FRESNO GREAT? If we may continue drooling over our city, we’ll point you toward a new survey from the Fresno City & County Convention & Visitors Bureau asking people “What’s so special about the Fresno area?” You should fill it out. [Fresno Famous]

PODCAST PIÃ‘ATA: The View Looks Good From Here, Fresno podcast turned 1 recently. What do you get a podcast for its birthday? We suggest a piÃ±ata. We like alliteration. I’m sure they’d be happy if you just listened though. [TVLGFHF]

IT AIN’T ALL RAINBOWS: A recent trainwreck of a local show has Conlan at FMB ranting about Fresno’s music scene. It’s a good read. [FresnoMagBlog]